Kids

Just some random pictures of the kids. Ava (a little girl I keep), Ben and Maddie playing with buckets on their heads. Or at least Maddie found the closest thing she could! He-he. Our cat, Prince, who is usually outside, got in on a little storytime one evening. He's Madalyn's buddy. Boy does that cat put up with a lot!

It was getting close to nap time...and this is what I found. Apparently Ben looked like a good bed to her. I really hope they will continue to always have this type of relationship.

Water for Christmas

I just read about this amazing Etsy Shop and Idea on another blog.
Please check it out! http://water4christmas.etsy.com/
all of the money goes to build wells with CLEAN WATER in liberia.
ALL OF IT.

here is the write up on their profile page...
"There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." (Denis Waitley)

At Water for Christmas, we've allowed the existing conditions to break our hearts and spur us to action.
* We want to join others in solving the world's water crisis, where 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have access to safe, clean drinking water.
* We don't want to accept the conditions where unclean water and the lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
* It doesn't make sense that 4500 children should die every day from the lack of access to clean water.
Water for Christmas is partnering with charity: water (www.charitywater.org) to build wells in Africa. All proceeds from items sold in this shop will go directly to building fresh water wells in Liberia, West Africa. We believe that a small group of people can work together to change the world. Visit us at http://water4christmas.com
*If you would like to donate a hand-crafted item to Water for Christmas, to be listed on this site, please send us a message. As with everything else, all proceeds will go directly to building fresh water wells in Liberia.


SO PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT AND BUY SOMETHING!

Catching Up!

So I can't believe its been 3 weeks since I last posted. So sorry to all of you that read this. I guess it just means we've been incredibly busy! So this post contains a lot of pictures of what we've been up to. Harvest has been a big part of our lives these days, and we try to get out to the field a couple of nights during the week so that the kids can see Daddy. Maddie got the chance to ride in the truck one night and she really liked sitting on Daddy's lap while we waited for the truck to get filled. Then she decided she liked this spot better:

The first weekend in October Jay Dee was able to get away on Saturday to head to Bethel College for his 10 year class reunion. We had a great time seeing a lot of our old friends and surprisingly most of the ones we wanted to see did show up. There was a lot to do there that day, including riding in this neat little firetruck. Ben was so excited, he didn't care what size it was.

Then when we left Bethel, we headed for the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita. My mom had purchased tickets earlier and we needed to get them used, so we met my parents there. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a day at the zoo.

Ben was pretty excited to see a camel, "just like on Diego!"

Madalyn thought the penguins were pretty cool. They kept coming under the water towards her so she could see them.

Ben with his new friend.

After the zoo, Jay Dee headed back to Bethel to watch the football game and the kids and I headed to my parents house with mom and dad. We made a stop at Braum's to eat and Madalyn decided it was time to snuggle up to Nana. Pretty sweet picture I think!

On Sunday morning, the kids were up early to help Papa with chores. That is always one of Ben's favorite things to do when we're in Kansas. However, now that Maddie has gotten bigger, he now has to share his time with Papa. Not so sure he's liking that idea. So this time Maddie went along to help feed the sheep.

While we were at the barn feeding the sheep, I helped my dad do some sorting of the ewes because it was time to get them ready to breed again. So the kids sat in the trailer with my dad's dog, Sid. This is Maddie giving her some loving. She's such a great dog.

Next it was off to feed the cattle. As you may notice, the cows are pretty tame and can't wait for their pellets.

We also got in on a little milo picking while we were there.

Jay Dee watching my dad pick milo.

I ended up taking a little walk back to the house from the field and decided to take some pictures along the way. Within a quarter mile of my parents house is an old train track. I think the train still runs at least once a week. I thought the photo turned out pretty cool.

This is my parents house. We moved here when I was a freshman in high school. My mom grew up here and so did her dad. The house was 100 years old in 2008.

Before we left to head back on sunday evening, Ben had to get in a game of Kerplunk with Papa. Probably also one of his favorite things to do.

Now one final random picture. I walked outside the other day to find this. My Maddie up on my bike. She sure thought she was a big girl!